I Scream for Ice Cream Cake Pops!

My friends and I decided to throw a little poolside barbeque to enjoy the nice sunny California weather we've been having, and to enjoy each others' lovely company! This also gave me a chance to try out my new cake pop pans! What I really liked about the cake pop pans is that it makes the whole process of making cake pop super fast and less messy. You don't have to crumble the cake and mix it with frosting (which ends up making the cake a lot sweeter than it need to be in my opinion) and then forming the cake into round balls that's relatively the same size. With the pans, the balls are made purely from the cake batter, and then you just use the chocolate for coating, so no frosting and messiness is involved. The chocolate adds the right amount of sweetness that the frosting normally would give to a cake or cupcake. That being said, I decided to make these super fun ice cream cake pops that I've been seeing on Google images! The flavor is French Vanilla, and I used white chocolate, milk chocolate, and pink chocolate melts for the coating of the cake pops along with a variety of sprinkles. These were a big hit and I had a great time making them for all my friends to enjoy! I also made flower cake pops and smiley face cake pops that I will add in separate posts! It's been a long time that I made something just for fun, so it's times like these that really makes me enjoy my hobbies =).

Ice Cream Humor:
- What did the cake say to the ice cream? You're cool!
- The young man entered the Ice Cream Palace and asked, "What kinds of ice cream do you have?" "Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry," the girl wheezed as she spoke, patted her chest and seemed unable to continue. "Do you have laryngitis?" the young man asked sympathetically. "Nope," she whispered, "just vanilla, chocolate and strawberry."
- A man approaches an ice cream van and asks, "I'd like two scoops of chocolate ice cream, please." The girl behind the counter replied, "I'm very sorry, sir, but our delivery didn't come this morning. We're out of chocolate." "In that case," the man continued, "I'll have two scoops of chocolate ice cream." "You don't understand, sir," the girl says. "We have no chocolate." "Then just give me some chocolate," he insists. Getting angrier by the second, the girl asked, "Sir, will you spell 'van,' as in 'vanilla?'" The man spells, "V A N." "Now spell 'straw,' as in 'strawberry.'" "OK. S-T-R-A-W." "Now," the girl asked, "spell 'stink,' as in chocolate." The man hesitates, then confused, replied, "There is no stink in chocolate." "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" she screams!

Flower Cake Pops

These are flower cakes pops that I decided to recreate that I found on Google images. These are great for the spring time, mother's day, or any special or random occasion for your special someone in your life. These are French Vanilla cake pops dipped in white chocolate. The flowers are made of fondant with edible pearls in the centers with colored white chocolate for the streaks. The cherry blossoms branches are painted with black food coloring and the blossoms are piped on with pink chocolate melts.

A useful tip that I discovered while making these cake pops is that double dipping in this case is perfectly a-okay! If you find that the first coat of chocolate is too thin, and you can still see some of the cake texture showing through, wait till the chocolate dries completely, and then re-dip the cake pop into the chocolate for a second coat! This makes the coat thicker and more opaque, and it often makes it more smooth as well. Also, if you're having trouble dipping your cake pop into the chocolate (meaning the chocolate is too thick and the cake pop keeps falling off the stick), there's 2 things you can do. I always dip my stick into some chocolate, stick it halfway into the cake ball, and let it harden (dry) completely. Then you can thin the chocolate by adding non-flavoring oil (like canola oil) and this will make the dipping as lot easier. Do NOT add water, that will ruin your chocolate. I hope you all enjoy and have a blossom day!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

I saw these cute smiley face cake pops and so I just had to make them myself! I love sending out a positive message whenever I can, and I feel that the more we absorb ourselves deeper into our busy hectic lives, the more we tend to forget the bigger picture and actually ENJOY our life! So now and then just stop and not worry too much, and try to be more happy with all the positive in your life rather than the negative. There's also opportunities to make a person's day a little brighter, so seize those moments! Now back to these cuties! These are French Vanilla cake pops dipped in white chocolate that's dyed yellow. I used black food coloring to paint in the faces and red food coloring for the tongue. Life's too short, so spend each day like your last!

Here are some happy inspirational quotes to help remind what's important:
- Most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy. - Dr. Robert Anthony
- If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.- Albert Einstein
- Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. - Helen Keller
- Life is relationships; the rest is just details.- Gary Smalley
- What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful. - H.H. the Dalai Lama
- People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway. - Mother Teresa

Oh Boy! Baby Shower!

Congratulations to Catherine and Han on their arriving baby boy, Kolin!! This baby shower's theme is Sea Critters! The octopus, blow fish, crab, sting ray, turtle and "It's a boy!" decorations are all made out of fondant. Half the cupcakes are carrot cake cupcakes with whipped cream cheese frosting and the other half are vanilla cupcakes with basic buttercream frosting! These decorations were especially fun (but also challenging) to make because this was the first time I use my new razor blade to free hand the shapes! It makes such a difference when you have a super sharp blade compared to a normal knife! There's something about the free flowing movement of the knife through the fondant that's exhilarating and scary at the same time, because if you mess up, you pretty much have to start over. However, just like with anything I do, it's all about practice! Exploring new techniques and being able to be creative keeps me going. Anyways, once again, congrats to Catherine and Han, we eagerly await the arrival of Kolin!!

To be a child is to
know the gift of living
To have a child is to
know the gift of life.
-Unknown

Eslee's 100th Day Celebration!

Happy 100th Day Eslee! These are Red Velvet cupcakes with whipped cream cheese frosting! All the decorations (butterflies, flowers, hearts, and "100") are made out of fondant and brushed painted with light food coloring. Birthday day celebrations are always so wonderful and fun but with traditions like 100th day, it makes it even more special. Congratulations to Eslee's parents are their precious baby girl's special day and I hope you had a great time! I wish you and Eslee many more birthday celebrations to come!!

Sarah & Jack's Baby Shower!

It's a girl!! Congratulations to Sarah and Jack Kim on your upcoming arrival of their precious baby girl, xxx!!! I cannot be more happy for them and I was honored when they asked me to make them cupcakes for their baby shower, and so I happily made them as part of my gift to the proud parents to be! They had a jungle theme, and so I made little elephants, lions, tigers, hippos, and giraffes out of fondant and an "It's a Girl!" tag as well. For Sarah's half of the cupcakes, I made Pina Colada Cupcakes with a Coconut Filling, and I made Chocolate Cupcakes for Jack, both with Swiss Meringue Buttercream! The baby shower was so sweet and special and so much hard work went into preparing for baby Charlotte's arrival. I can't wait to meet you Charlotte Jacklyn Kim!!!! I just know you will be so loved and be so darn cute and adorable!! Congratulations Jack and Sarah on your little bundle of joy!

50th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to the Buckley's! The 50th Wedding Anniversary is known as the Golden Anniversary, so for their cupcakes, I made pink hearts with flower vines embossing that is filled in with gold luster dust. The cupcakes are red velvet and pumpkin cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Here are a couple poems I found that I wanted to share with the lovely couple!

A Golden Couple Half a century ago, they say,
A wonderful marriage began that day.
Two beautiful people joined as one,
And worked together to make living fun. We celebrate now those fifty years;
We raise our glass and give three cheers:
To partners in life in both work and play,
It’s our pleasure to share your golden day. Happy 50th Anniversary! By Karl Fuchs

Fifty Years Fifty years is quite a while
For most good things to last;
But you’re still together and still in love;
You must share a wonderful past. We celebrate you this wonderful day,
And hope that your bond keeps on growing;
You’re a pair we should study and do what you say,
'Cause your secret is well worth the knowing! By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

Baby Announcement!

Did someone say baby???? My husband Khoa and I have been married for over 2 years, and the next step in our life together is of course, the wonderful gift of life, a baby! We have been so blessed and fortunate and most of all LUCKY to have the awesome life we have, so when I found out we were going to bring a little bundle of joy into our lives, I really wanted to tell Khoa the great news in a special and memorable way.

So I found out the great news late on a Sunday night while Khoa was out. So I didn't have much time to come up with an elaborate grand scheme so I had to make the most of what I have and so I decided to present Khoa the news with a message on some cupcakes! I had the cupcakes baked, but I still had to make the decorations and the frosting, and by then Khoa already got home. So he asked if there's anything he can help me with since it was getting late. So I asked him to cut out some fondant scalloped circles for me. I had baked a dozen cupcakes, but I asked him to cut out 18 circles haha. He didn't really think anything of it even though he knew I only baked a dozen cupcakes, and knowing he knows I have reasons for my requests, he just happily went to work no questions asked! So once he finished cutting the circles, he went to the living room and relaxed on the couch. I decided to write the words "Soon to be world's BEST dad!" on the cupcakes by hand since personal handwriting seem more personal to me (plus it's a lot faster than cutting out fondant letters). Things were going so great so far and all I had to do now was place the decorations on the cupcakes, plate them, stick them in the oven for him to find, and then show him the great news!

Too bad the rest of the story didn't go like that haha. Once I got the decorations on the cupcakes, Khoa decides to check up on me and see how I was doing with the cupcakes! So instantly I panic, and when I'm in panic mode, my common sense shuts down and havoc breaks loose!!! So Khoa was getting close and I didn't get to plate the cupcakes yet so in the spur of the moment I shoved him away from the kitchen! Immediately he was like "huh?? what the?" and continued to walk towards the kitchen, and so once again I shoved him away! He asked what's up and I could not formulate an articulate sentence. All I can say was "UUhhh...LUNA (our maltese doggie)...LUNA wants...to...THROW SOMETHING!" I immediately regretted my words...why would a dog throw something??? Luckily Khoa corrected me and asked "you want to throw something?" Relieved that it made more sense than my previous statement, I shouted YES!! Khoa looks are me very confused and puzzled, and decides to humor me and asks "Ok...what do you want to throw?" So now I panic once again, and spot Luna's toy rope on the floor of the living room, and I point to it! Khoa hesitantly walks over to the toy and picks it up, and hands it to me. Once again, I'm stuck, what am I going to do with this rope?!?!? haha. So I just toss it on the floor, and Khoa says "Satisfied?" haha.

I shrug since I don't know what else to do and I hope he would just sit back down on the couch. Of course, he does NOT do that, and walks towards the kitchen again, and I shout NO! I proceed to tell him that some of my cupcake decorations got ruined and messed up somehow and so he can't see it! Curiosity stirs inside him and so he replies "Oh no!! What happened??? Let me see!!" AHHH! NO!!! I then make up some bogus reasoning saying that I'll manage somehow and maybe I'll just turn up the oven super high and hope the decorations "bake dry" like in ceramics...I know that's not the terminology and there's no such thing as this method of fondant repair, but I know Khoa wouldn't know what I'm talking about but I was desperate! So he just looks at me very concerned, and so I asked him to walk Luna. FINALLY, something sensible came out of my mouth!!

Once he was out the door to walk our doggie, I quickly plated the cupcakes, and stuck them in the oven and set a timer while the oven heat remained OFF! When he got back inside, the timer finally went off a couple minutes later, and he gets up from the couch and heads over to the kitchen. I can see the curiosity in his eyes and he eagerly waits to see what on earth I just did and what I have been up to. So trying to keep a VERY straight face, I told him to check my cupcakes for me. So he goes to the oven, and opens the doors. He starts to read the message out loud "Soon to be...wait, who's this for?" and then looks up at me, at this point, tears are streaming down my face, and instantly he finally got it and says "WAIT, REALLY???? You mean...US??? NO WAY!!!" I nod my head and said yes with all these happy tears on my face, and he gives me a great big hug and we literally jump for joy for several minutes!

I know it wasn't the smoothest of smooth operations, but it definitely was memorable and special. We are so happy to announce that we will be having a baby, projected birth day to be on June 12, 2012 =). Loving life more than ever!

Bob the Builder Cookies!

Happy Birthday Markus!! These are Bob the Builder sugar cookies with royal icing piping for the decorations. I hope you had a very special birthday Markus with all your friends and family!

Humor Time!
A truckload of penguins breaks down on the freeway on a hot summer day.The truckdriver sees a blonde construction manager driving up in a company Suburban, so he asks the CM, "Is this car air conditioned?" The construction manager says, "Sure is". So the truckdriver says "I'll give you $100 to take these penguins to the zoo." Off goes the CM and the penguins. About three hours later, the CM comes back with the car-load of penguins all wearing 3-D glasses. The truckdriver looks at the penguins in disbelief and yells, "I gave you $100 to take those penguins to the zoo!!!" The CM replies, "I did. But we had money left over so we went to a movie, too."

Law & Subluxation

I made law and chiropractic cupcakes for my chiropractor to bring to a law firm! These are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips in them and buttercream on top! All the decorations are made of fondant. The chiropractic cupcakes are of a spine, special chiropractic pillows, and an xray! The law cupcake decorations are of the quality justice symbol of the scale, the book of law, and a gavel! I hope the folks at the law firm enjoys these sweet bites of justice in their tummies!

Law Humor:
Two lawyers walking through the woods spotted a vicious-looking bear. The first lawyer immediately opened his briefcase, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on. The second lawyer looked at him and said, "Are you crazy? You'll never be able to outrun that bear!" "I don't have to," the first lawyer replied. "I only have to outrun you."